Merriconeag's One Acts Festival Performances of Hamlette by Allison Williams

Open Dress Rehearsal: This Thursday March 5th, 7:00 p.m.,

Community Hall, 57 Desert Rd,

Free admission

For more information please see News from the High School below.

Regional Competition Performance: Friday, March 6th, 6:00 p.m.*,

Freeport Performing Arts Center, Freeport, Maine.

Cost is $5/student, $8/adult at the door.

* At the regional competition, audience members are expected to attend the entire block of three plays. Merriconeag is in the 6:00-9:00 block on Friday, March 6, along with Edward Little High School and Casco Bay High School.

Saturday Craft Morning - Welcoming Spring
Saturday, March 7, 9:30 - 11:00 a.m.
Early Childhood Center, 60 Desert Road, FreeportDelightful activities for prospective families and their children under 7. Please tell your friends!
Come make a spring-inspired craft and listen to a story about waking up Lady Spring.
Registration is appreciated but drop-ins are welcome. Contact Heidi Drexel, 207.865.3900, Ext 163 or hdrexel@merriconeag.org.

Community Meeting

Tuesday, March 10, 7:00 - 8:30 p.m.

Community Hall, 57 Desert Rd, Freeport

The MWS Board invites all community members to join us for a community meeting with representatives of the marketing & communications committee, the administration, and faculty for a presentation and conversation around the findings and recommendations that emerged from the community survey and the research conducted by the strategic marketing firm, Blaze. There are many affirming and positive insights to share about this remarkable school. We’ll also explore questions and perceptions that influence retention as well as perceptions of Merriconeag from outside the school’s community, from misunderstandings about the curriculum to confusion around the school’s name, which impact enrollment. The marketing team will also bring to the community updates on the process and work of the brand exploration project. There’s much to cover together, so we hope you can make it!

Tea & PlayFriday, March 13, 2015, 9:00 - 10:00 a.m
Early Childhood Center, 60 Desert Road, Freeport
Bring your child, share a cup of tea with us and learn more about our programs for young children. Storytime at 9:30.
Registration is appreciated but drops-ins are welcome. For more information and to register, please contact Heidi Drexel, 207.865.3900, Ext 163 orhdrexel@merriconeag.org.

High School Coffee House

Friday, March 13, 7:00 p.m.

Community Hall, 57 Desert Rd, Freeport

Tired of Rotten Luck? Come to the High School Coffee House
Do you suffer from friggatriskaidekaphobia, better known as “fear of Friday the 13th?” Come to the highly anticipated High School Coffee House on Friday, March 13, at 7 p.m. in the Community Hall, to reverse your deepest, darkest anxieties! Tri-hosts Fiona Ahearne, Phoebe Dolan and Chris Gordon will guide you safely—knock on wood—through the evening (as long as you have a rabbit’s foot in your pocket). Compelling poetry, short story excerpts, memorable dance and musical numbers will scare away any silly superstitions (however, don’t expect any salt to be served, and all mirrors in the bathrooms will be removed during the evening; also, avoid black cats at all cost, and for goodness’ sake, keep your umbrellas outside, even if it’s raining!). Delectable desserts of all kinds will be on sale, to benefit our intrepid Model UN club and our sponsored student attending the Siddhartha School in Ladakh, India We’re especially hoping so see as many seventh and eighth graders and their parents in attendance as possible, so much so that we’re keeping our fingers crossed and wishing on the first star we see tonight! David Sloan

The Challenges of Being a Good Dad:

What Does It Take and How Is It Different From Being a Good Mom?

A public talk for both dads & moms by Jack PetrashFriday, March 27, 7:00 pm Community Hall, 57 Desert Rd, Freeport

Donation at the door.
Parenting today is a challenging assignment. What is needed to do this work well?

Register now: publicrelations@merriconeag.org
It is rare that dads have a chance to sit together and speak about the joys and the challenges of fatherhood. In this workshop participants will reflect on their own childhood experiences which in so many ways influence our parenting. Through our conversations and reflections we will get at the heart of what it takes to create a meaningful and memorable relationship with our children.

Please note there is limited space in the workshop so register today by letting Deeda know of your interest (publicrelations@merriconeag.org). Your registration will be considered complete once we receive your $15 payment.

New promotion with CLYNK: Now through April 20, 2015 - Hannaford will be matching every dollar raised by Merriconeag with an additional $.50. We now have CLYNK bags available in the main office and the EC office. Once you have filled your bag, simply take it to your local Hannaford, scan the bar code tag on the bag, and drop the bag in the designated location at your Hannaford. It's that easy! See flyer for more.
Example: If Merriconeag has 20 supporters, and each one returns a bag every two weeks, we'll make over $1,500 every year (based on an average bag worth $3.50).

We still have all of your everyday shopping programs too. Check out the flyer for all the details.
Contact Melissa Hoy in the Business Office (ext. 151) with any questions.

From the Development Office

Thank you to Auction Sponsors and DonorsAUCTION SPONSORS - the following businesses and individuals have generously agreed to be 2015 Auction Sponsors. You too could be on this list. If you want your business or name to benefit from the visibility of being an Auction Sponsor, fill out a sponsorship form and submit it to Lynne Espy before March 16. The benefits of sponsorship are numerous, and described here.Heart Level ($750) Sponsors:

AUCTION DONORS – The Silent Auction is renowned for its unique, heartfelt, handmade and homegrown qualities. This community likes to support each other, and we the hidden talents abound. Whether it’s a hobby or your profession, please consider donating a unique item or a service that you think the community would highly value.

Still looking for volunteers to help with many aspects – if you have any free time, we can put you to work! Most importantly, book a sitter and mark your calendar for the evening of Saturday April 11th.

Our Early Childhood parents are invited to join the EC teachers for a night of crafting and conversation on Thursday, March 5, 7:00 p.m. Bring your insights, questions and experiences as we discuss discipline with particular focus on building resiliency. This is not a presentation or a lecture, but a conversation where the EC community of parents and teachers can help support each other.

In addition, we will be using that reclaimed blanket again, but this time to make bunnies to decorate your nature table or to hop into Easter baskets...

We look forward to seeing you there! Jess Moore for the EC teachers.

A few images from the Bluebell Nursery:

News from the High School

Merriconeag's One Acts Festival Performances of Hamlette by Allison Williams

What are the One Acts? The Maine One Act Festival or "One Acts," is an interscholastic drama competition for high school students coordinated by the Maine Principals Association. Regional Festivals are held each year around the state in early March, with the winning teams from each class (Class A and B) going on to compete at the State Festival in late March. Although a school places (1st, 2nd, etc.) as a whole team, individual students can be named to the All Festival Cast or be awarded recognition for costume and set design, and even student directing. These festivals are a great opportunity for students interested in theater to study the craft and interact with other teenage artists.

This is Merriconeag's second year competing in the One Acts and we are taking our production of Hamlette to the regional competition at Freeport High School this coming Friday. The cast and crew are made up entirely of students from our high school. We invite the community to come watch our open dress rehearsal on Thursday, March 5th, 7:00 p.m.in the Community Hall. We will have feedback forms for the audience and would greatly appreciate the chance to present our play to a live crowd, as well as get your feedback before competition time! Hamlette, a comedic and female-lead reinterpretation of Shakespeare's Hamlet, is appropriate for 6th grade and up. Questions can be sent to Jeff O'Brien at the high school, who is coordinating this year's production.

* At the regional competition, audience members are expected to attend the entire block of three plays. Merriconeag is in the 6:00-9:00 block on Friday, March 6, along with Edward Little High School and Casco Bay High School.

Gender Identity & Transgender Equality Forum, February 25: This past Wednesday at the High School, we had a forum on the topic of Gender Identity and Transgender Equality, from a transgender (Female to Male) senior student at Waynflete, AJ Yarn. The forum was arranged by the highschool’s P.R.I.D.E Club as a way to introduce the community of Merriconeag to the topic in a simple, accessible fashion. AJ started off by introducing himself and diving quickly into the topic, asking us to look at a handout. Labeled “The Spectrum”, the handout had a visual representation of the spectrums of biological sex, gender identity, gender expression, gender presentation, and sexual orientation. He asked us to mark where we felt each of us were on the spectrums as we wished. Questions began to pop up around the circle from both students and teachers, some relating directly to AJ, and some to the terminology in the handout. Time went by quickly with AJ’s humorous nature and articulate presentation, and he joined us up at the Commons for any extra questions and some laughs. Sabrina Small

School Community Updates

Don't know what to do with all those precious finger-knittings filling up your house? Donate them for the auction! Parents of the Second Grade are on the hunt THIS WEEK especially and up until auction time for strings of finger knitting, twisty-ties (ask your child what these are), skeins of cotton or wool yarn, ribbon, fabric, cotton rope, wooden beads. Pieces of all sizes and colors welcome. Clean out those toy/craft boxes and please help us make something up-cycled and wonderful! Donation basket will be on 2nd grade bench, or give to Iris' mom, Jen Fitzpatrick, at EC or simply hand your loot to any 2nd grade parent you see. Thank you so much!

Honoring Childhood: A Blog for Merriconeag

Join our readers from around the world and subscribe to our blog today!

To sign up and to read the latest post, Loving a Great Question: The Waldorf Approach to High School Science by Jeff O'Brien, click here.

(You may also get to the blog by clicking on this icon wherever you see it posted!)

Athletic News

High School Nordic: A number of our skiers participated in the U16/Eastern High School qualifier this past Saturday at Black Mt. in Rumford. In the U16 (under 16) division, congratulations to Tucker Pierce and Olivia Skillings for placing first, and to Nick Neveu and Eli Gundersen, who will all represent Maine on the U16 state team in later this month. Also, hats off to Forrest McCurdy, Samantha Pierce and Fiona Ahearne, who were named to the EHS team. Both the U16 and EHS skiers will be competing in weekend championships later in March at Fort Kent and Black Mt respectively. Both these championship weekends (U16 and EHS) involve teams from all over New England, with each state having their own teams of 24 girl and boy skiers, with each team trying to secure the overall championship.

Early Childhood Craft Social:

Thurs, March 5, 7:00 pm.
A craft social for parent of children in EC.Read more > >

High School One Act Play:

Thurs, March 5, 7:00 pm, Community Hall, 57 Desert Rd, Freeport.
Merriconeag High School students present their One Act Play, HamlettRead more > >

Saturday Craft Morning:

Sat, March 7, 9:30 - 11:00 am, Early Childhood Center, 60 Desert Rd, Freeport.
For prospective families and their children under 7.
$5/child.
Welcoming Spring: Come make a spring-inspired craft and listen to a story about Lady Spring. To register: hdrexel@merriconeag.orgRead more > >

Community Meeting:

Tues, March 10, 7:00 p.m.
Community Hall.
The MWS Board invites all community members to join us for a community meeting with representatives of the marketing & communications committee, the administration, and faculty for a presentation and conversation around the findings and recommendations that emerged from the community survey and the research conducted by the strategic marketing firm, Blaze. Read more > >

Tea & Play Session:

Fri, March 13, 9 - 10 am.
Early Childhood Center, 60 Desert Rd, Freeport.
Prospective parents: Bring your child, share
a cup of tea with us and learn more about our
programs for young children. Storytime at 9:30.
For more info & to register: 207.865.3900,
Ext 163 or
hdrexel@merriconeag.org
Read more > >

High School Coffee House:

Fri, March 13, 7:00 pm.
Do you suffer from friggatriskaidekaphobia, better known as fear of Friday the 13th? Come to the highly anticipated High School Coffee House on Friday, March 13, at 7 p.m. in the Community Hall, to reverse your deepest, darkest anxieties! Read more > >

Public Talk by Jack Petrash:

The Challenges of Being a Good Dad: What Does It Take and How Is It Different From Being a Good Mom?
A public talk by Jack Petrash
This talk is open to all - moms and dads!
Friday, March 27, 7:00 pm
Community Hall, 57 Desert Rd, Freeport
Donation at the door.Read more > >

A Fathering Workshop with Jack Petrash:

A Fathering Workshop with Jack Petrash
Saturday, March 28, 9:00 am - 12:00 noon
Community Hall, 57 Desert Rd, Freeport
Cost: $15
To Register:
publicrelations@merriconeag.org
There is limited space in this workshop. Registration is considered complete when we have received your $15 payment.Read more > >